Goettingen, Germany, June 19, 2012 / B3C newswire / – Sartorius Stedim Biotech (SSB), a leading international pharma and biotech supplier, presents a new generation of sterilizing-grade filters: Sartopore® Platinum. This product family sets new standards in sterile filtration and expands the comprehensive Sartorius filter portfolio.

Higher product yields and more efficient manufacturing workflows

The surface of the Sartopore® Platinum polyethersulfone filter membrane has been modified using a hydrophilic and highly thermostable polymer. This surface modification gives the membrane excellent wetting properties and minimizes its protein binding. Fewer than five liters of WFI (Water for Injection) are needed to wet a 10” Sartopore® Platinum cartridge fast and reliably for subsequent integrity testing that provides dependably accurate results.

The membrane’s minimized protein binding considerably increases product yield, thus augmenting the efficiency of manufacturing processes. Sartopore® Platinum filter cartridges can be dry-steam sterilized in the forward or the reverse direction, without altering the properties of their membrane. These sterilizing-grade filters can be used in the entire pH range from 1 to 14 and thus for nearly any filtration application in biopharmaceutical manufacturing.

Better filtration performance and lower filtration costs

The membrane of the Sartopore® Platinum filter cartridges has been pleated using SSB’s newly developed, proprietary TwinPleat® process. The alternating long and short pleats of the membrane increase the filter area of a 10“ cartridge by more than 60 percent. At the same time, this geometry ensures that liquids flow through the entire filter area so that the filtration capacity of the cartridge is used to the fullest extent. As a result, Sartopore® Platinum filter cartridges substantially boost filtration performance and lower filtration costs.

The new sterilizing-grade filter cartridges are available in a choice of different sizes and constructions ranging from lab to production scale. In all sizes, identical materials of construction with consistent performance characteristics are used. Therefore, Sartopore® Platinum enables linear scale-up for a large number of applications in the biopharmaceutical industry.

A profile of Sartorius Stedim Biotech

Sartorius Stedim Biotech is a leading provider of cutting-edge equipment and services for the development, quality assurance and production processes of the biopharmaceutical industry. Its integrated solutions covering fermentation, cell cultivation, filtration, purification, fluid management and lab technologies are supporting the biopharmaceutical industry around the world to develop and produce drugs safely, timely and economically. Sartorius Stedim Biotech focuses on single-use technologies and value-added services to meet the rapidly changing technology requirements of the industry it serves. Strongly rooted in the scientific community and closely allied with customers and technology partners, the company is dedicated to its philosophy of “turning science into solutions.” Headquartered in Aubagne, France , Sartorius Stedim Biotech is listed on the Eurolist of Euronext Paris. With its own manufacturing and R&D sites in Europe, North America and Asia and a global network of sales companies, Sartorius Stedim Biotech enjoys a worldwide presence. Its key manufacturing and R&D site is in Germany. The company employs approx. 2,850 people, and in 2011 earned sales revenue of 477.3 million euros.